Rogue general shot in Bangkok

14 May 2010, 1:33 pm   -   Source: AFP/CNN
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A general leading a militant wing of anti-government protesters was shot in the head while giving an interview and critically wounded.

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Thai authorities were sealing off a sprawling anti-government protest site but "Red Shirt" demonstrators dug in after clashes left one dead and a renegade general fighting for his life.

The clampdown coincided with fresh violence which left renegade Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, a high-profile Reds supporter, shot in the head.

Describing a chaotic scene on the streets of Bangkok, Thomas Fuller of The New York Times described to CNN how Maj. Gen. Sawasdipol was shot in the head as he was interviewing the opposition figure.

"I was facing him, he was answering my questions, looking at me and the bullet hit him in the forehead, from what I could tell," Fuller told CNN.

"It looks like the bullet came over my head and struck him. I don't have any way of confirming this beyond what I remember from the scene but it felt like it grazed my head."

The general had been accused of trying to stymie government moves to reconcile with the protesters.

He was unconscious in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, the Bangkok Emergency Medical Service said.

Protester killed

Another demonstrator was also shot in the head and died in clashes with security forces Thursday night. Eleven others were wounded, the Medical Service said.

Red Shirts vowed no surrender despite the shooting of the fiery general, known as Seh Daeng.

"If you think the shooting of Seh Daeng will scare leaders and make them not dare to take the stage, you are wrong," one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan, said at the rally site.

"No matter what the weapons are, it means nothing to people who are calling for democracy like us. We will not leave here as losers."

On Friday the protesters were digging in.

Electricity cut, rail system shut

"The total seal-off measure took place since yesterday evening," said the army spokesman, Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd, adding that the electricity company had cut off the power to part of the capital.

"Today we will meet to assess the measure," he said.

As part of the operation, some of Bangkok's elevated rail system was shut this morning, including a section through the key tourist area of Sukhumvit Road.

The army had warned it would deploy snipers around the Reds' protest site and use armoured vehicles to prevent more demonstrators joining thousands who have essentially turned a large area of central Bangkok into occupied territory for two months.

Black-clad guards at entrances to the sprawling protest site in central Bangkok were armed with slingshots and arrows. They sealed access at one main entrance and reinforced another position with sandbags.

Troops had blocked a main road with a water cannon, and dozens of police wearing bullet-proof vests were gathering, but the only armoured vehicle seen was a lone Humvee.

Embassies closed
  
The United States said it was "very concerned" about the violence, and closed its embassy because it is close to the protest site.

The British, and Dutch embassies also suspended visa services.

"The government has to continue to have a dialogue with the demonstrators and they need to reach an agreement on a path forward," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

Asked if there was a threat to democracy, he said: "There are fundamental fissures within Thai society and the only way to resolve this and to develop a civil and inclusive society is through peaceful negotiation."

Australia's Department of Foregin Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told SBS there was no need to close their embassy in Bangkok due to the clashes as it is in a different part of the city.

The fresh violence came after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva shelved a plan to hold early elections in November and hopes faded for a resolution to the crippling political crisis.

Abhisit said he had scrapped a plan to hold elections in mid-November under a peace plan aimed at ending the standoff because the protesters were refusing to disperse.

Who are the 'Red-Shirts'

The Reds say the government is undemocratic because it came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote after a court ruling ousted elected allies of their hero, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was unseated in a 2006 coup.

The mostly poor and working class Reds, who launched their campaign in mid-March for immediate elections, initially agreed to enter the process but efforts to reach a deal that would see them go home eventually broke down.

Bracing for further possible unrest, the government extended a state of emergency to 15 more provinces. The measure was already in place for the capital and surrounding areas.

Almost one-third of the country is now under emergency rule.

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